Is Cardel an alternative to Medium or Substack?

Cardel is a home for your craft: a site of your own with a blog, newsletter, shop, community, and one inbox. It can replace Medium or Substack when you want your work, audience, and sales in one place. The feature list on this page shows where Medium and Substack are marked.

Can I use Cardel with Medium or Substack?

Yes. Cardel pages can link out to other products, so you can keep Medium or Substack for what it does best and bring the rest of your work to Cardel.

How much does Cardel cost compared with Medium and Substack?

You don't pay for Cardel until you publish. Choose Starter, Pro, or Studio when your site goes live. Medium and Substack set their own prices, so check their pricing pages on this page for current plans.

How do I switch from Medium or Substack to Cardel?

Start with Build Your Site, set up your home, and bring your work over at your own pace. You do not have to move everything on day one.

Compare

MediumvsSubstack

Medium gives writers a built-in readership and Partner Program earnings without a site. Substack is the simplest way to write a newsletter, grow it through its network, and get paid.

Compare Pricing Compare Features

How Medium and Substack compare

Medium is where a good essay can find readers on its own. The editor is calm, publications curate, the algorithm and topics surface work to members, and the Partner Program pays writers from member reading time. You bring words; Medium brings the audience and the distribution.

Substack made paid newsletters normal. You write, it sends, and readers can subscribe or pay in one click. The network effects are real: recommendations, Notes, the app, and discovery bring new readers you did not have to find. There is no monthly fee, and for a writer who wants to write rather than run software, that is a gift.

Where they are different

Medium

Medium owns the reader relationship.
Medium is one publication format.
Medium claps and responses stay on Medium.

Substack

Substack is a network you publish into.
Substack takes a percentage of paid subscriptions.
Substack chat and comments live in its app.

Choose Medium when you want readers and modest earnings without owning a site or a list.

Choose Substack when you want to write, get paid, and be discovered with the least possible setup.

Compare features

What's on Medium and Substack

A check means that capability is available. Medium and Substack are marked only when the offer is comparable, not the same product.

Site and brand

Workspace site
Medium: Not included
Substack: Included
Custom domain
Medium: Not included
Substack: Included
Theme and fonts
Medium: Not included
Substack: Included

Public content

Blog
Medium: Included
Substack: Included
Reader engagement
Medium: Included
Substack: Included

Reach and quality

SEO
Medium: Included
Substack: Included

Audience and email

Audience
Medium: Not included
Substack: Included
Marketing emails
Medium: Not included
Substack: Included

Team

Admin users
Medium: Included
Substack: Included
Per-admin permissions
Medium: Included
Substack: Included

Feature comparison for Medium and Substack
Feature	Medium	Substack
Site and brand
Workspace site	Not included	Included
Custom domain	Not included	Included
Theme and fonts	Not included	Included
Public content
Blog	Included	Included
Reader engagement	Included	Included
Reach and quality
SEO	Included	Included
Audience and email
Audience	Not included	Included
Marketing emails	Not included	Included
Team
Admin users	Included	Included
Per-admin permissions	Included	Included

* Note: This table does not capture every feature of Medium or Substack, and is not intended as a comprehensive list. We keep this page current, but Medium or Substack may add or remove features that are not shown here.